"The benefits you receive by improving the proficiency of your CNC
people will out-perform any other single improvement you can make in your CNC
environment!"
The excuse that most managers will give for not implementing CNC in-plant
training is that it costs too much. Admittedly, the costs related to hiring an
instructor, developing curriculums, and taking production time for training
cannot be minimized. Costs related to full-blown CNC in-plant training can
indeed total a very substantial investment.
But depending upon the compromises you are willing to make, improving the
proficiency of CNC people may not cost as much as you might think. In fact,
there are even some very inexpensive training resources available. But
generally speaking, the less costly the training resource, the more you must
expect from the people being trained. The least costly resources require the
most self-study.
Highly motivated people will be willing to put forth the most effort to
improve their proficiency. And if all of your people are highly motivated, you
may be able to minimize your training costs. Of course, self-motivation should
be the most important attribute you look for as you hire new people for this
very reason. But you must also face the possibility that at least some of your
CNC people are not as motivated. Less motivated people will not be willing to
put forth the effort required for self study. And if your CNC environment is
made up of many such people, your in-plant training program will be much more
costly.
Trade journals
There are many trade journals like Modern Machine Shop Magazine,
Metlfax, and Manufacturing Engineering that provide timely
information relative to all facets of manufacturing. Most are free and include
monthly articles related to CNC. It is likely that some of your people are
receiving one or more of these journals. Why not make them available to
everyone that could have interest in them? Better yet, why not make them
required reading for people who could benefit from them?
Local library
If you have never looked into the manufacturing section of your local
library, you may be somewhat surprised at the number of manufacturing related
books (and if your company becomes a library sponsor, you can even influence
the books they acquire). Additionally, most libraries maintain electronic
storage for back issues of the most popular manufacturing-trade journals. This
affords a wealth of information that is available to you and your company and
is free of charge. For basic and general training, your most motivated CNC
people can learn a great deal from this free information. For more advanced
work, the indexed trade journals back issues can help your people research
specific topics of interest.
Company library
For those topics not accessible in your local library, you can develop your
own company library. You can include CNC
related books and other publications (like trade journals) for all to have
access to. You can also include a copy of all training manuals supplied by your
machine tool builders. For a very small investment, you can make it possible
for your people to learn more about CNC.
On-line services
The fact that you are reading this interactive article demonstrates that you
know on-line services exist that can help you learn about CNC. How many CNC
people in your company have access to this kind of service? Note that a set of
links that should be of interest to all CNC users is included on our home page.
Self-paced training courses
Many suppliers offer self paced training in the form of
video courses and
CD-rom training courses.
Rather than simply reading to learn, as is required in all previously mentioned
training resources, these self-paced courses provide information in a much
easier to understand format. With videos, for example, machine functions can be
demonstrated as well as talked about. Very little reading is necessary to get
the information across. With computer based training, interactive practice and
simulation is also possible.
While we have been emphasizing training for the purpose of improving
proficiency of entry-level people, remember that even your experienced CNC
people need a refresher from time to time. As CNC technology improves, so does
the range of possibilities. Once trained, you don’t want your CNC people
to become stagnant. Not that more
advanced training videos are also available to address topics like
setup time reduction,
cycle time reduction,
probing, and other more advanced
CNC topics.
Technical schools
Your local community college or technical school likely offers an excellent
curriculum related to CNC. Many work with local industry to custom tailor their
courses to meet your specific needs. Some will even conduct courses right in
your own facility. These schools often make the most cost effective way to
improve proficiency of entry level CNC people. Use our CNC Schools page to help you find a local
CNC-teaching school.
Machine tool suppliers
All machine tool builders and control manufacturers offer training for the
products they sell. And as new machines are purchased, you will obviously want
to take advantage of this training. However, the free training that is
available from most builders is limited to one or two people. After that, most
charge a substantial fee for training. Additionally, even "free"
courses require you to pay for the attendees time and travel expenses.
Machine tool suppliers also vary with regard to training prerequisites.
While many offer excellent courses, most assume the people coming to the course
are among your company’s most experienced. Some of these courses will be
of little value to entry level CNC people.
Seminars
Several organizations, like the Society of
Manufacturing Engineers and the Tooling And
Manufacturing Association, sponsor seminars and clinics relative to all
facets of manufacturing, including CNC. While basic courses are available, most
focus on continuing education to improve the proficiency of your experienced
CNC people.
Training suppliers
There are a number of companies that have focused on supplying custom
in-plant training courses. Many can
offer CNC training on basic as well as more advanced CNC topics.
Manufacturing technology centers (MTCs)
There are a number of government sponsored manufacturing centers scattered
around the country designed to provide reduced cost services to local industry.
While they vary with regard to what services they supply, most offer CNC
training courses. If you have not done so, check to see if one exists in your
area and find out what is available.
Your own in-plant training courses
None of the training resources introduced thus far allows you to completely
control the training to be done. In every case, you must depend upon others.
While a great deal can be achieved with these resources, only by developing
your own in-plant training program can you completely dictate content, time and
place, and all other functions of the learning environment. Note that there are
companies can offer help when it comes to the
CNC curriculums your people will
teach. Some can even supply training simulators and table-top CNC machine tools
for practice. But when you have your own people teaching the courses, you can
take total control of your training program.
